You're A Mean One, Mr. Trump

The Lincoln Project

Government, News, Politics, News Commentary

4.7 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the holiday season hits full throttle and millions of Americans flood airports during record-breaking Christmas travel week, this episode takes a clear-eyed look at what real holiday cheer means in a year dominated by nonstop headlines. From winter storms snarling flights and causing massive travel delays to violence interrupting festive gatherings and global tensions refusing to pause for Christmas, this week's news cycle offered little comfort—or quiet. Breaking down the biggest stories -- from Susie Wiles' Vanity Fair expose to Trump's deranged, coke-fueled speech while he gripped the podium to the close-up photos of Trump's admin -- it's been a week...and Rick will guide you through it all.

Rick Wilson cuts through the noise with sharp humor and grounded perspective, breaking down the biggest stories of the week while reminding us that optimism doesn’t require denial. This is holiday cheer with a backbone—fact-based, reality-tested, and stubbornly alive in the middle of headline fatigue, end-of-year chaos, and a world that refuses to slow down just because it’s Christmas.
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Rick Wilson is on X at @TheRickWilson, on Bluesky at @TheRickWilson.bsky.social, and you can check out Rick's Substack at therickwilson.substack.com. You can check out more of LP's work at www.lincolnproject.us and on X at @ProjectLincoln.

#HolidaySeason #ChristmasCheer #YearEndNews #TopHeadlines #HolidayTravel #WinterStorms #BreakingNews #PoliticalPodcast #RickWilson #LincolnProject

Transcript

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0:00.0	Your task will not be an easy one.
0:02.5	Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battlehardt.
0:06.3	There is not a liberal America and a conservative America.
0:09.9	There is the United States of America.
0:14.5	Good night and good luck.
0:16.8	Hey, folks, it's Rick Wilson.
0:18.0	And this is the...
0:19.1	There comes a dog.
0:20.2	Two dogs.
0:21.3	You know, I have dogs. So, it's Greg Wilson, and this is the, there comes a dog, two dogs. You know, I have dogs.
0:23.1	So, it's the last episode of the year of the elephant in the room.
0:28.6	And the elephant in the room this week is good cheer.
0:39.4	You should have some good cheer.
0:42.5	First off, the holidays are coming.
0:44.3	Be with your friends.
0:45.3	Be with your family.
0:46.5	Be with your loved ones.
0:48.8	Give and exchange gifts.
0:50.0	Enjoy it.
0:52.0	One of the things I've been thinking about today,
0:57.2	about the elephant in the room being good cheer, is twofold.
1:12.7	One of the great burdens that, you know, who has placed on us in the last decade, is the sense that everything has to be about him that has to rotate around his malicious, malevolent, malignant presence in our world.
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